Eye Of The Beholder
by MeGkAtHeRiNe
Summary: A tsunami gives a man with a son and fiancee brain damage, and cronic amnesia. Can his best friend help him through it, or lead him on in the wrong direction?
1. Chapter 1

The night sky was almost pitch black with only the lighting of the iridescent moon as Hotch and his fiancée walked hand in hand down the sandy pier. He had only proposed moments ago and the lovely brunette next to him wanted to celebrate by the water. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She immediately nodded, her hand gripping his just a bit tighter. "Oh honey, don't you think it'll be fun? Just me, you, the moon and the sand beneath us."

Hotch gave a laugh as he helped the woman down the stairs and onto the stand, helping her balance as she slipped off her heels. "Sweetheart, what if you get sand in your…crevasses?"

"Then I'll just have to deal with it."

Two minutes later, the pair lay on the bank of the beach, the cold water coming up to chill their toes. Hotch laid atop his beautiful brunette, kissing his way along her neck when the woman beneath him realized the water just a few feet away from them began to reseed. "Honey?"

He grunted as he tried to reposition himself. "I'm trying dear, but you have to give it a minute."

Her brown eyes were frantic as she saw a huge wave begin to rise not to far from where they were sprawled, and she began to push him off of her. "Honey, the water."

"What?"

"The water!"

…

Morgan was the first to the hospital with a panting JJ by his side, their badge already in their hands when they made their way to the front desk. "We're Agents Derek Morgan and Agent Jennifer Jareau. We're with the FBI and we need you to tell us where Agent Hotchner is."

"Oh sir, I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to give out that information."

JJ's eyes hardened on the older woman behind the counter and her hand immediately tightened around her badge. "Alright, I don't think you heard him. We're AGENTS with the FBI and AGENT Hotchner is our boss. So if you could please let us know what room he's in and his current status, you'd be much help."

The woman shook her head, her gray hair bouncing from side to side. "Sorry ma'am. Not allowed."

Both agents had their hearts beating out of their chests when heels were heard against the hard tiles of the hospital floor. "Agents?"

JJ and Morgan both turned their heads to see a dripping wet Beth Clemmons with her sash in her hand, a doctor quickly racing after her. "Beth? What happened?"

The brunette's eyes watered as she looked at the two. "We were celebrating our anniversary and Aaron proposing. But then this huge wave came for the start of a damn tsunami and now the doctors wont tell me where my fiancée is!"

Morgan nodded quickly as he heard the rest of the team file in behind him and JJ, their breathing hard just as theirs had been a moment ago. "Ok, Beth I need you to go with the doctor so he can check you out. Is that ok with you?"

Beth nodded slowly before letting the bald doctor take her back to the examination room. Once she was no longer visible, Morgan and JJ both turned to the worried faces of their team. "Guys-"

"What happened?"

"Where's bossman!"

"Is Hotch ok?"

"The tsunami almost swept us away, too!"

"Did they tell you anything?"

JJ's eyes almost bugged out of her head when all of her teammates began to talk at once, and she quickly shushed all of them. "Ok! First off, the stupid old hag behind the desk is giving us nothing, so I have no idea where Hotch is or the state of his status. And yes, we all know the storm is still going on outside. Everyone just stay calm, ok?"

Emily was the first out of the bunch to walk up to the blonde, her dark hair sparkling with the drops of dirty rain. "Well how's Beth?"

The blonde smiled softly at her brunette friend in front of her, knowing how much she tried to care for everyone she met. "The doctor just took her in for an exam to make sure she's ok."

Emily bit her lip before giving a quick nod and walking past the rest of her team and flashing her badge at the gray haired woman behind the desk. "Hello. My name is Agent Emily Prentiss and I'd like to know the status of Agent Aaron Hotchner please. He was brought in just a little while ago from being hit with the first tsunami wave."

The older woman shook her head before smiling. "Sorry. Boss said I can't give out information."

The brunette let her eyes harden, her hands resting on the cool surface of the counter. "Alright, lets see how I can say this without you fearing for your life." She knew when the woman's eyes widened, she was already getting somewhere. "I'm Emily Prentiss, daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss and Navy Lieutenant Charles Prentiss. Either you give me the information and status of Agent Aaron Hotchner, or I'll make sure you life is a living hell from the moment you leave your shift tonight."

Betty, what her nametag stated, immediately handed the tall brunette agent a file, her hands shaking before she gave a hesitant smile. "There you go Miss Prentiss."

Emily gave her sweetest smile as she took the file into her hands. "Thank you so much."

…

Twenty minutes later the team was surrounding their chief's bed, their eyes wide with worry when they saw a bloody bandage around his head and a tube coming out of his mouth.

A moment after awkward silence, his doctor came in with a clipboard in hand. "You all must be Aaron Hotchner's co-workers. I'm sorry to say that I don't know when he'll awaken, but I can tell you that he has severe brain trauma and a broken wrist. The 'tsunami' as people are calling it was not as severe as most cases. Your boss was very lucky. He could wake up from any time between now and a week. Maybe even two."

Dave nodded to the doctor as he left the room, and looked to the brunette on his team. Her eyes were red and watering, her lip being licked by her pink tongue as her fingers played in her lap. She was sitting in a chair just next to Hotch's bed, her hands itching to grab his.

Dave quickly turned to the rest of the team and gestured for them to exit the room. "Let's get out for awhile. Go see how Beth is doing."

Once Emily was alone with her boss in the crystal clean room, she let her shaking hand hold his broken one, her tears falling onto his blue cast. "Aaron please wake up. You have a beautiful son waiting for you back in Virginia. And your girlfriend is crying her eyes out right here in this hospital." She sucked her lips in as she tasted salt on her tongue. "Sweetie you're my friend and I love you. I've known you forever, and you can't just leave us all like this. We can't survive without you and you know it."

She laid her lips to his forehead before brushing her fingers through his short hair. "Please wake up for me."

…

It was three hours after Hotch was brought into the hospital when his eyes slowly opened, the crust in the corners of his eyes causing him to squint. His blurry vision let him look around the room before his brown eyes landed on a brunette sleeping in a plastic chair beside him, a magazine in her lap. As he tried to sit up he let out a groan, pain radiating through his back.

Emily's eyes immediately popped open before looking to her friend, her smile wide as tears quickly flooded her vision. "Aaron! You're finally awake."

"Where am I?"

The brunette reached for the glass of water beside her and helped him take a sip, hearing his voice raspy and husked. "You're in the hospital. We're in Tampa, Florida on a case."

"What happened?"

Her eyes blurred even more if possible when she reached out to rub her fingers over his hairy arm. "You were hit by the first wave of a small tsunami. You have brain damage, sweetie."

Hotch shook his head as he sat back on his pillow, feeling awkward under the woman's gaze. "Please don't call me sweetie."

Emily felt her heart clench as she let out a sob, her eyes still soft on the man in the bed. "Why not?"

"I don't know you."


	2. Chapter 2

Emily's heart stopped when she heard those words leave her friend's mouth, her eyes immediately becoming waterfalls as her hands gripped the handles of her chair. "What?"

Hotch shook his head, his broken hand being cradled by the other. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you."

The brunette let her hand cover her quivering lips and chin, her eyes still glued on his. "You don't remember me? You don't remember my name, or where I work? You don't remember anything about me?"

Hotch looked to the woman and felt his heart break as she sat there balling her eyes out. "I'm so sorry miss, but I don't." When she let out a sob, his own eyes began to water. "Oh please don't cry. I'm really sorry."

When he realized her voice wouldn't work, her eyes still leaking and her hands shaking, he gave her his softest smile. "Can you tell me your name? A beautiful woman like yourself must have a gorgeous name. Please tell me it."

Emily bit her lip before looking down to her lap, her eyes closing so she only saw the calming black of her eyelids. "My name is Emily. But, you used to call me EmmyGrace."

"Why?"

Her smile appeared just as soft as before as her eyes lifted to meet his. "Cause you're my best friend. And my name is Emily Grace Prentiss."

Hotch felt pride well up inside him when the woman before him smiled, her tears momentarily stopping. "Can you tell me about it?"

Emily's eyebrows furrowed as her fingers wiped the drying tears from her cheeks. "Tell you about what? Your life? Our friendship?"

"Everything."

The brunette's eyes widened before letting out a nervous laugh. "Well your life is a little long, so there's no way I can really sum it up. But, you have a beautiful family, a hard job and some of the most amazing friends that anyone could ever have. And I know that because I see you almost every single day due to our job and friendship, and we have pretty much the same exact friends."

Before the man in the bed could get another word out, a little boy came crashing into the room, his eyes wide and his smile big before he jumped onto the bed. "Daddy!"

Emily's smile was soon lost when her friend didn't make an attempt to hug his own son, his hands stilled on the small boys shoulder as tiny arms wrapped tight around his neck. She bit her lip, keeping her tears at bay this time, watching as the boy she knew too well sat back in his father's lap. "Are you ok, daddy?"

Hotch nodded slowly to the small boy, his eyes wide as he saw the boy's brown orbs were identical to his. "I'm alright."

Emily let out a breath as she stood from her chair, walking over to the pair before taking Jack in her arms. "Honey lets go outside for a moment."

"Why Emmy?"

She rubbed her hands up and down the small boy's back before sending the older man who was staring at them a smile. "Because your daddy needs some time by himself, ok?"

Jack nodded into the older woman's neck.

Emily smiled softly as she took Jack's hand in hers, causing him to wave at his father. "Say bye to daddy, Jack."

"Bye daddy!"

Hotch nodded to the both of them, watching the doctor come into the room. "Goodbye Emma."

Emily shook her head slowly, slipping Jack onto her hip and giving a sad smile to a crying JJ in the doorway. "It's Emily."


	3. Chapter 3

Doctor Amy Jenson smiled at the patient on the bed as he watched the brunette with the little boy in her arms walk out of the room. "Good morning, sir. My name is Doctor Jenson, and I will be your doctor for your entire stay."

Hotch gave a nod and smiled with sad eyes. "Hello."

"Could you please tell me your name?"

Hotch sighed. He knew what was happening. They knew about the amnesia. "I'm Aaron."

"Aaron what?"

"I don't know."

The doctor nodded her head and gave a smile to her patient. "Can you tell me the date, sir?"

Hotch shook his head and looked down to his hands that began fiddling in his lap. "I'm sorry, but I don't know."

"That's alright, Aaron." She gave him a reassuring smile as she sat down in the chair Emily had occupied. "So, what the doctors and I will do is assess what you do and what your memory regains in the next week. If at least something spurs, you'll be leaving here by next Tuesday."

The man in the bed looked up to the doctor, managing to catch the brunette woman he had been talking to with the child that was supposedly his son clinging to her chest. He watched as the small blonde boy buried his face into the woman's neck, and she recuperated with a kiss to his brow line, her hand rubbing up and down his back as they spoke with another doctor.

They looked like mother and son.

As if they belonged together.

Hotch gave a sad smile to the doctor, frustrated tears in his eyes. "Is there a chance I'll never remember?"

Doctor Jenson looked at the poor man and bit her lip, standing from her seat and giving him a good pat on his shoulder before walking out.

…

Emily bounced the small boy she loved dearly on her hip as she listened to the doctor telling her about Hotch's condition. He had post-traumatic amnesia, and it was possible he'd never regain his full memory.

Once the brunette woman heard this, tears immediately flooded her vision and she clutched Jack to her chest. "How bad was his head hurt?"

"Agent Prentiss, I'm sorry to say his brain was injured pretty severely. There's bruising on his frontal and anterior temporal regions. After the questions my fellow doctor has asked, we know he is having full trouble regaining even part of his life before the accident."

Emily bit her lip and nodded her head, unconsciously gripping the back of the young boy's shirt while he clung to her neck. "Can I go back into him?"

The doctor nodded, watching as Doctor Jenson came out of the patient's room. "If you try not to crowd him too much, you can stay in there with him for as long as you want."

Emily nodded and quickly turned to face the room, her eyes immediately latching onto the man in the white robe, the same bloody bandage wrapped around his head. She put on a smile as her feet brought her into the white room and sat her down in the chair she had occupied before, her hands clutching Jack's small hips as she sat him on her lap. "Hey."

Hotch looked to the younger woman by his bedside and gave her a nod, his smile no longer on his face. "Hello Emily."

The brunette smiled just a little wider when she heard her name come off the lips of his. "How do you feel, Aaron?"

"I'm fine." His eyes tore away from hers and he looked to the small boy that was seated in the woman's lap. "How are you J-Jack?"

The small boy lifted his head and gave a big smile. "I'm goods, daddy! How is your boo boo?"

Hotch gave a genuine smile to the young boy and shook his head. "My boo boo will be better in no time. I promise that I'll be ok."

Jack nodded as he bounced on Emily's lap. "Can I kiss it, daddy?"

Emily watched as the older man gave a nod, and felt Jack jump off her lap and saw him quickly scamper over to the bed. She rubbed her palms over her thighs, her eyes stinging as she watched the young boy crawl onto his father's lap, kissing the whitest part of the bandage. "All better!"


	4. Chapter 4

Two hours later, Jack's tiny body was still seated in his father's lap, his small hand tracing the outline of the older man's dimples. Emily had run down to the cafeteria to grab them a couple of snacks only five minutes ago, so the young boy figured this would be a good a time as any to talk to his father. "Daddy?"

Hotch smiled down to the young boy in his lap and ran his fingers through the small blond hairs. "What is it, bud?"

"Is Aunt Jess gonna take me back home before you leave heres?"

The older man felt his heart clench when he watched his so-called son looked up to him with his wide eyes. "I honestly don't know, Jack. Would you like to stay here until I can get out of the hospital?"

Jack immediately nodded, his smile wide. "Yeah! That way Aunt Jessie could go home and be safe, buts I get to stay here with you and Emmy!"

A laugh erupted from Hotch's throat as he nodded his head. "That's right. Do you like her?"

"Emmy? I LOVE her! She's my Emmy!"

"Well yes Jack, that part I know." He smiled down to the young boy. "But how long have you known her?"

"For forever!" He looked down to his lap and grabbed a blue crayon, studying it in his hand. "She's really nice and funny and always gives me cookies! But she don't make em' cause she said hers taste like poop."

Hotch laughed even louder than before and ruffled the boy's hair. "She said that, huh?"

"Yup!"

The two boys continued to babble on about Emily, not noticing the woman in question was standing just outside the door with the food in her hands, her ear pressed against the glass.

"What's the favorite thing you've ever done with Emily?"

Jack looked up to his father, his eyes narrowing as he watched Hotch's wrinkles tighten in his forehead. "I think its when she tooks me and Henry to the park. We went on the swings and then she tooks us to get ice cream! But then Henry didn't feel good and we had to go home, but we got to sleep at her house!"

"Well she sounds like quite the woman."

Emily smiled softly outside the door before standing straight, giving a shake of her hair before walking into the room, the food held up high. "I'm back."

Jack immediately jumped off his father's lap and ran to the older woman, smiling wide when he gave her a bag of cookies. "Thanks Emmy!"

The brunette woman nodded before leaning down to kiss his forehead. "No problem Captain Jack." She looked up and smiled to the man in the bed before sitting back down in the seat she had vacated. "How's the head?"

Hotch shrugged before pointing to the bottle in her hand. "Would be a little better if I were hydrated."

Emily's eyebrows furrowed before she looked down, her eyes widening. "Right!" She handed him the bottle of water and watched as he took a sip. "Better now?"

"Much."

The brunette couple let their eyes attach gazes before a knock at the door rudely broke them apart.

"Aaron? There's someone out here that needs to see you."

Hotch nodded slowly and watched as Doctor Jenson wheeled a woman into his room, a small bandage around her wrist.

"Oh, Aaron! I'm so sorry for making you go out onto the beach. I didn't know any of this would happen." Beth's eyes watered and a hand went to her mouth, her shoulders being rubbed by a just as scared Emily Prentiss. "I'm sorry, darling. Please forgive me."

Hotch narrowed his eyes as he watched Emily comfort the younger woman. "I'm alright."

"No Aaron, you're not! The doctors told me what you had. I just wish I didn't make us go out there."

"I'm really alright, Ms…?"

Beth's eyes widened as she felt Emily's fingers smoothing down her hair. "Aaron, my name is Beth. You don't remember me?"

The older man shook his head, sorrow in his eyes for forgetting yet another person in his life. "I'm sorry Beth."

Emily bit her lip before bending down next to the wheelchair, taking a sobbing Beth into her arms. This was exactly what she was afraid of.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily let out a sigh as she rubbed her hand over her forehead, listening as the doctor rolled a sobbing Beth out of Hotch's hospital room. After having the younger brunette break down in her arms, Emily had her own tears starting to run down her cheeks.

"Emily?"

The brunette turned and forced a polite smile to the man in the bed, wiping the tear trails from her cheeks. "Yes Aaron?"

Hotch looked at the woman before him with uncharacteristically sad eyes, but his shoulders as stiff and strong as usual. "Who was that woman?"

Emily smiled sadly as she walked over to her friend, sitting beside him on the bed and taking a quiet Jack into her lap. "That woman is Beth Clemmons. She's just…a friend. Of yours and the team's."

The younger brunette immediately gave a silent curse as she watched her boss frown at her in confusion, and she quickly shook her head to dismiss what she last said. "It's just not important right now, ok? All you need to focus on at the moment is getting better to get out of this hospital."

Hotch let his light caramel eyes scan the woman over, and slowly nodded when he saw her shoot a genuine smile his way. "Yeah, ok." He slowly removed his eyes from hers before looking down to his son, smiling softly when he saw the young boy snuggling into Emily's chest. "He told me you take care of him sometimes."

Emily smiled wide as she let out a little laugh, her snort causing the older man to smirk. "Yeah, I do. He comes over almost every weekend when we're not away on a case. I either take him to the park or the arcade, or we stay at my house and watch movies and bake cookies." Emily's eyebrows then scrunched as she continued to babble, her eyes burning into his as she watched the other brunette give a grin. "…and sometimes he like to build forts…I'm sorry, but what the hell is so funny?"

"I'm sorry, but my son told me that your cookies tasted like poop."

Emily felt her eyes shut tight as she let a loud laugh escape from her throat. She shook her head as she ran a finger over the young boy's hairline. "Did you really tell your daddy that?"

Jack immediately nodded as he bounced in the older woman's lap. "Yeah! That's what you tolded me and Henry!"

Hotch laughed loudly, watching his son tackle the brunette woman onto the bed and quickly snuggle into her chest.

Emily's breath was somewhat heavy as she looked over to the man next to her; the smile on her face sheepish, her fingers rubbing up and down's Jack small back. "I'm sorry. Do you mind me laying here?"

The older man shook his head, his finger rubbing the sore spot next to his injured temple. "No. Not at all."

…

Doctor Amy Jenson walked swiftly into the hospital room, her blond ponytail swinging perkily behind her head. "Okay Aaron. I just need to give you a quick dose of anti-phetamine and you'll be all ready to…" She let the end over her sentence die on her tongue when her eyes landed on her patients bed.

There lay Aaron with the brunette woman beside him. The woman that had come in crying and begging for information.

Their shoulders were touching, as well as their legs, with the small blond Hotchner laying right between them. Doctor Jenson smiled when the little boy wrapped his small arms around the brunette woman's neck in his sleep.

She quickly nodded and backed out of the room. "I'll just be back later, then."


	6. Chapter 6

His small brown eyes slowly opened, his hands rubbing away tiny sand crusts from his corneas. He lifted his head off of the older woman's chest and smiled when he saw Miss Emily's nose pressing just against his daddy's. "Emmy!"

The brunette jerked awake, that hand that wasn't under her head immediately going to her temple. "What is it, Jack?"

Jack giggled when the woman's voice barely made it to his ears. "Look at daddy! It's like you guys were doin' the butterfly kisses!"

Emily scrunched her eyes before looking not two inches in front of her, her breath catching in her throat when the tip of her nose brushed the brunette man's beside her. "Jack? How long have we been sleeping?"

"I dunno!"

The man beside her winced as Jack's high voice rang in his ears, his head immediately pounding as his hand went to his bandage. "Oh…"

Emily's eyes widened as she sat up in the bed, helping her friend sit beside her with her hands softly moving to his head. "Hey. Are you alright?"

Hotch opened his eyes to see the beautiful brunette who had stayed with him the entire time, her dark eyes searching his as he felt her hand cover his. He nodded slowly, his shoulders going numb as he felt the bed slowly moving to accommodate his angle. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really fine."

Emily nodded before setting the bed remote down, lifting Jack from his spot and bringing him to sit next to her father. "Do you wanna keep daddy company while I go get Doctor Jenson?"

Jack's small eyes immediately widened before he grabbed onto the older woman's hand. "What's wrong? Is daddy getting bad?"

Emily let her teeth grind as she quickly shook her head, her eyes widening before laying a kiss to his forehead. "No sweetheart, he's fine. I just need to get her in here to make sure everything will stay ok." She shot him a comforting smile, her fingers tightening around his. "He's gonna be just fine, baby."

Hotch watched as his son's shoulders slowly relaxed, his head nodding quickly before the brunette woman made a quick exit. "Jack?"

Jack turned and smiled at his father. "Daddy?"

"You know I'm going to get better, right? I'll get better each and every day that passes."

"But you always gets hurt daddy! Just like my Emmy and Uncle Derek." He gave a pout before climbing into his father's lap. "I don't want you to go like mommy did."

Hotch's eyebrows immediately shot up as his hands tightened around the small boy, sadness and curiosity welling up inside of him. He would make sure to ask Emily about that later. But for now… "Jack, I'm not headed anywhere. I'm here to stay."

Jack let his face brighten before throwing his arms around his father's neck. "I love you daddy!"

"I love you too buddy."

Not two seconds later, Emily arrived back into the room with the blond nurse entering by her side. The brunette smiled to the man in the bed, her white teeth coming out to play in an attempt to brighten the mood for her friend. But her smile quickly faded when she saw his eyes glare her way, the brown in his eyes turning a deep and dark black as his son jumped off his lap.

Emily's shoulders stiffened under her best friend's gaze as she sat in her chair, vaguely listening to the doctor as she spoke.

Something was definitely wrong.


	7. Chapter 7

Emily's eyes flickered from her friend to the doctor, he body shivering as she felt Aaron's hard gaze still on her. Why had he looked at her so harshly? She couldn't remember anything that she had done before leaving the room to make him look so angry.

"Alright Aaron. Everything seems to be looking good for now." Doctor Jenson smiled. "Just press that red button on your remote and I'll be notified if you need anything. Ok?"

Hotch nodded, his eyes staying on his so-called best friend as the doctor looked towards Jack. "Jack, do you wanna come with me for a little while?"

Jack looked up from the crayon in his lap. "Why?"

"I think your parents need a little alone time. And besides! My friend Nurse Lexi has some cool suckers and I bet she'll let you have one. You can even pick which color."

Emily sighed as her fingers worked her temples. "I'm not his mother." Her eyes shot up to see Hotch's scowl, and he visibly gulped as she sat up in her chair. "But that would be great if you could take him for a couple of minutes."

Doctor Jenson nodded before taking Jack by the hand, letting him jump off of the bed before leading him out of the room.

Emily looked to her friend and gave a timid smile, her fingers rubbing over her warm knees. She let her tongue swipe over her lip before taking a breath. "So Aaron, what hav-"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The brunette's eyebrows scrunched together, her forehead creating her deep frown creases. "Excuse me?"

Hotch's eyes hardened and voice deepened, his words getting louder and louder as his fingers dug into the sheets that covered him. "Why didn't you tell me about my wife?"

Emily let her features soften as she shook her head, her elbows coming to rest on her knees. "Aaron that is a majorly soft subject for you. I didn't think I should bring it up while you're still in the hospital…"

"She's dead, Emily! My wife is DEAD and you didn't think that it was important to tell me?" He sat up straighter in his bed and pointed a finger at his friend. "You're the one who is supposedly my best friend! And yet you couldn't tell me that? Emily what the hell!"

Emily held out a hand as her back stiffened, her eyes hardening on the brunette in the bed. "Now you wait just one minu-"

"No I will NOT wait, Emily! This is my wife. My goddamn wife and you didn't have the decency t-"

"I told you that I wanted to wait until you left the hospital! I never said it wasn't important or that I wasn't going to tell you. Stop putting words in my mouth."

Hotch shook his head. "I have total memory loss, Emily. You may not be able to tell me most things, but this is something that should have definitely been on the 'to tell' list! The 'tell Aaron immediately' list!"

Emily sucked in a breath as she looked to her friend, her hand still outstretched to him. "Aaron, you have to listen to me. The first thing on my mind when I got here was not to remind you about your wife, alright? The first time going through that was hard enough on you. Why would I make that pain happen again when it didn't need to right now?"

The older man looked towards his friend, tears welling up in his eyes. "What was her name?"

Emily's dark eyes caught Hotch's, and she felt her heart begin to beat in her throat as she looked at him. "Her name was Haley. Haley Brooks."

"Did she have blond hair?"

The brunette's breath caught in her throat as she nodded. "Yeah, she did."

Hotch shook his head as his hands fisted the sheet in his lap, much like a frightened young child. "I remember her."


	8. Chapter 8

Emily felt herself let out a breath, her throat constricting with that all too familiar lump that settled near the hollow. Her fingers slowly wiped away the drying tears that lay on her cheeks, reflecting on the long conversation she and her best friend had just had about his ex-wife.

She looked up to see the older man staring down at his hands in his lap, and she knew he was holding in his tears and emotions just like he always did. "Aaron?"

The older man looked up from his lap, his red, stinging eyes looking into the brunette's dark doe ones just a few feet away. He nodded to the younger woman in front of him, her pale lips stiffly staying together.

"Aaron, can you talk to me?"

Hotch felt his shoulders slack as he leveled himself against the pillows behind his back. "You know Emily, we've been talking for the past half hour about my marriage, my son and my dead wife." He looked up into her eyes once more, watching as they seemed to lose their sparkle. "I think I'm a little talked out."

Emily gave a nod, sucking her lips into her mouth before trying for her signature smile. "Yeah, of course." She pointed towards the door, knowing their friends were just out there, somewhere in the hospital, waiting for their time to talk to the ill man. "If you want, I can go and get the team now. I know they've just been dying to see you, Aaron."

Hotch nodded to the brunette, watching as she tried for her best smile. He sighed, knowing that she was trying her best to make him feel better and make him feel more comfortable.

It just wasn't working.

"Yeah, you can go get… the team?"

"The men and women we work with, Aaron."

The older man gave a grunt. "Yeah, ok."

Emily nodded, gnawing at her bottom lip as she stood from her chair.

"Emily?"

The younger woman turned in her spot on the glossy, hospital floor, her eyes looking to the man with sadness in his eyes. "Yes Aaron?"

Hotch gestured towards the door, his eyes on his small blond son who sat at the desk across from his hospital room, his butt in Dr. Jenson's chair. "He's ok, right?"

Emily spun her head, her gaze dropping onto the young boy who smiled in her direction. "I'm sure he's just fine, Aaron. He's really a happy, little boy." She looked back to her friend. "Is that all you need right now?"

"Could you maybe see if that Beth woman is ok?"

The brunette felt her heart swell, her smile popping out once more when her friend remembered the woman that he truly was in love with. "While the team is in here, I'll go to her room and make sure she's alright."

The older man let a real smile grace his stoic features. A tired one, but a real one at that. "Thank you, Emily."

"Anything for you."

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed as he watched the younger woman make her way out of the room, seeing her give a small wave to his son and watching as the little boy immediately waved back. There was something about her that made him think what they had just wasn't friendship.


End file.
